International

Abe Urged Pres. Moon to Stick to 2015 Wartime Sexual Slavery Deal

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says he urged the South Korean president to stick to a 2015 bilateral deal on the issue of Japan's wartime sexual slavery.

Abe made the remark on Tuesday during a meeting of the House of Representatives' budget committee as he explained the results of his summit with Moon which was held shortly before the opening ceremony of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.

Regarding the contentious wartime sexual enslavement issue, Abe said he told Moon that their countries cannot build a future-oriented relationship if a leader doesn't put himself on the line in making a decision.

Abe also said at the meeting that he met with North Korea's nominal head of state Kim Yong-nam around the time of the Pyeongchang Olympics' opening ceremony.

During the meeting with Kim, Abe said he had strongly demanded the return of abducted Japanese nationals in North Korea and that he had also conveyed Japan's position on the issue of Pyongyang's missiles and nuclear weapons.

Japan stands against North Korea's nuclear and missile program and has joined global efforts to impose sanctions on the North to get it to stop developing nuclear weapons and missiles and scrap its nuclear arsenal.